Covid: culture secretary Oliver Dowden defends the return of students to university

The culture secretary has defended students returning to university in England after a union called the situation “chaotic.”

Oliver Dowden told the Andrew Marr Show that it was important that students not “give up a year of their life” for not going.

Labor has asked the government to consider stopping the return after Covid outbreaks meant that thousands of students had to isolate themselves in their accommodation.

A scientist advising the government said the situation was “inevitable.”

Dowden said: “Young people have paid a huge price during this crisis and I think it’s fair to try to get them back; we have clear guidelines that they must follow.

Media playback is not supported by your device

Professor Mark Woolhouse, part of the SPI-M government pandemic modeling group, said the situation was “completely predictable” and had been modeled.

He said students were not to blame for the outbreaks and that with students from across the country converging it was “inevitable that there would be some spread.”

The modeling showed that the risk areas were first-year residencies and classroom teaching, he said.

Students have been told to isolate themselves in their accommodation at various universities in England and Scotland, including Manchester Metropolitan University, where students said security guards and police were preventing them from leaving.

Ellie Jackson, a freshman at Manchester Met, said: “We knew it would be different, but we didn’t think it would be that different.”

“They have told us that if we leave, we cannot return.”

His fellow student Jaimick Shah said all of his roommates had tested negative but had yet to isolate themselves. “We are struggling to get food because everyone is trying to order it at the same time,” he said.

Manchester Met said it had contacted students “as soon as we could, but meaningful advance notice was not possible due to the requirement to implement isolation almost immediately.”

Media playback is not supported by your device

Some students have questioned why they were told to return to their university accommodation when most of their teaching is done remotely, and why they still have to pay full tuition.

Mr. Dowden said the student experience at the beginning of this term “was not what it would be” due to the crisis, but that they still had to pay tuition fees while being taught.

When asked by Andrew Marr if students should get their fees back, Mr. Lammy said, “It’s clear there are actually a lot of colleges struggling financially, so there is a balance here. Successful online students and to have a face to face [tuition] where it is safe to do so. “

He called Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to explain his plan to the House of Commons on Monday.

Labor’s parallel education secretary Kate Green told BBC Breakfast the government should consider pausing the start of the term while an “effective and efficient assessment system” is in place, and students have the option of learning from home. if they feel safer there.

Thousands more students in England are showing up for the new college term this weekend, but the big question is whether they should go the other way and study from home.

Is it prudent or fair for universities to bring students back if they are at increased risk of a Covid outbreak and having to isolate themselves?

The accommodation blocks, with shared facilities and full of young people eager to socialize, have already seen a wave of outbreaks. So should the brakes be applied to prevent this pattern from repeating itself?

After recruiting record numbers of students and promising them a combination of online and face-to-face teaching, it would be a very uncomfortable U-turn for colleges to go back to the academic equivalent of working from home.

And would that mean refunds for accommodation and tuition fees?

There are likely to be some chaotic days ahead, and some big decisions must be made about whether to reduce the numbers on campus. And students must wonder how they’ve gone from being locked up at home all summer to now locked up in college.

In Scotland there are outbreaks at the University of Glasgow, where 600 students have been isolating, as well as at the universities of Dundee, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Scotland’s Education Secretary John Swinney told the BBC’s Politics Scotland program that students, even those who tested negative for Covid-19, should stay in their accommodation to minimize the spread of the virus.

The National Union of Students (NUS) said students should be able to drop rental contracts, access online learning, or defer.

“We must remember that this is happening because the government and the universities told students to return to campus and this chaotic situation now demands flexibility,” the union said.

You are a student? How do the rules affect you? Share your experiences by sending an email [email protected].

Include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

• WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803
• Cheep: @BBC_HaveYourSay
• Read our terms and conditions and privacy policy.